Editing Synchronization gear (section)

=== The linkage between propeller and gun ===
The third requirement is for a linkage between the "machines" (engine and gun) to be synchronized. Many early gears used an intricate and inherently fragile bell crank and push rod linkage that could easily jam or otherwise malfunction, especially when required to work at higher speeds than it had been designed for. There were several alternative methods, including an oscillating rod, a flexible drive, a column of hydraulic fluid, a cable, or an electrical connection.

Generally, mechanical systems were inferior to hydraulic or electric ones, but none were ever entirely foolproof, and synchronization gears at best always remained liable to occasional failure. The ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' ace [[Adolf Galland]] in his memoir of the war period ''The First and the Last'' describes a serious faulty synchronization incident in 1941.<ref name=Galland1>Galland 1955, p. 219.</ref>